dell purchasing strategy

I am going to buy a dell 9100 in canada, through my research i've noticed that dell plays A LOT of pricing games. Depending on how I access the websites I get a pretty large range of prices for the same computer (these are all acessed through the canadian domain though). Do any of you guys know how dell structures their discounts? For instance how often the promotions change, how often new coupons come out and what extend can u get discounts from dell in canada? Last week they were offering free ram upgrade (which i would use) and now it's some garbage free dvd burner + free printer (which i would rarely use), when can i expect the deal to change. Keep in mind that this is canada we're talking about too so those 30% off coupons I keep hearing about don't really happen here, so i've been told.
thanks a bundle guys.

 

Your guess is as good as mine. They don't give any notice. I'd hang out for a deal you like as they, as noted, often change the configs and prices. We now have a Canadian section in the Deals forum. You might want to check that out.

 

ok i just got off the phone with Dell, and to be honest I was very impressed with the service.
I"m getting this:
http://configure.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=ca&CS=CADHS1&l=en&OC=OCINSP9300_FEAT_CH93E03

everything stock, except for extra ram (512) and a 6800 vid card. before cupons it came it $2000 flat and I wanted to apply a $200 off coupon. except the dell guy actually had a better cupon, $250 off. I was impressed by his honesty, and even though I've talked to maybe 3 or 4 guys at Dell I think I'll actually get the computer from this guy cause he was so honest. FYI his name is ashwin and his extension is 72739, he's cool so I dont mind sending business his way.

I think the moral of this is that you should shop around before you do anything with Dell. I'm going to hold out for bit longer tho since the coupon doesn't expire till the 24th of November so I can get better free upgrades. I dont want a crappy ass dell printer or dvd-r upgrade when I have both on my desktop.

 

cool, thanks for the tip. Im debating on getting a 9300 with a %30 off cupon. it expires on the 17th of this month though. Do you think there will be any of the same or better deals in december?

dan

 

Hmm interesting that he offered you a $250 off coupon. The most I found was an online one of $200 off (that you mensioned) which I was going to use online to avoid the hassle of going through a sales rep. But seems that you found a nice guy to deal with. I am also buying from Canada and I also agree that Dell plays pricing games. The best thing to do is wait out, as long as you possibly can even, to a deal that is attractive to you. Every Friday a new 'Deal' will be on the Dell Canada website. Now that you missed the 'upgrade of memory - Free' deal, don't expect to see it again until next month, if not after Christmas now that they can rack in large profits regardless of deals at that time of the year.

Maybe it will be the opposite and Christmas will bring great 'Deals' - Don't hold your breathe though.

 

Recently Dell has been a bit tigther with their coupons, I'd say 30 percent is the best you can hope for and I would go for it. That coupon hasnt been out since I think July.

 

Prices frequently change, IN fact dell monitors your activity when you are running specs on a system. Im sure they use this information to adapt their pricing. It's not uncommon to see changes even on a daily basis on hardware options and soo forth, keep a sharp eye out.

 

I wouldnt wait too long, Dell has a 30 percent off inspirons right now, with that coupon back in july I bought a 9300 for 1477, gig of ram on my own, 6800 card, wxga ultrasharp, cdrw/dvdrom drive, intel 2915 abg wireless, 80 gig hard drive.
Im told this coupon expires on 11/17

 

I seriously doubt it, the 30 percent off seems to come around only every six months, why would they give good deals in christmas season? people are gonna buy them with or without know what I mean?